Tabac Especial Coffee Infused Colada and Robusto

Ok, let's get something straight, mkay?

I like my coffee black. No sugar, cream, fruit, milk, or any other stuff in there. Fresh ground, black coffee.

I like my whiskey neat. Good whiskey, in a glass, two fingers. No soda pop, water, or any other stuff in there. Ok, myabe a cube if it's really high octane stuff but since I don't consider Wild Turkey 101 "high octane" this doesn't happen often.

I like my steaks very simple. A little garlic, a little sea salt, a little course ground black pepper, ok. But, no rubs, sauce, BBQ or otherwise, to hide the flavor of a great cut of beef.

In my life, I've smoked one and only one "infused" cigar - it was an Acid "Krush Klassic" (Morado Maduro, I believe) that was gifted to me and it was perhaps the most wretched patchouli reeking dog turd I've ever had. Oh my god, three draws and that disgusting thing was promptly extinguished and put in the outside garbage. I used brake cleaner to get the reek off my cutter and ashtray, and washed my hands in a mixture of acetone and hand cleaner to get that awful smell off my fingers. I promptly power horked a cheap bundle smoke to get the purtid floral taste out of my mouth, and gargled with some whiskey to finish the palate cleansing. Eech. Lesson learned.

So, imagine my horror and surprise when this showed up:



...from my good friend Israel from Uptown Cigars. It had a note in with it:

Tom: Hope you enjoy these smokes, my friend. I figured I wouldn't mind having a true BOTL share and review some smokes with me. Who better than you, my friend. If you're wondering about the three pack, it's Wilkey's elusive Moontrance and the new Tabac Especial, by Drew Estate. These are the only infused cigars I have ever enjoyed. Perfect morning "coffee" cigars for a Saturday or Sunday morning. Let me know what you think.

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Holy crap. Now, I have had the pleasure of smoking with Israel last year at the Quad State Herf and even visited his great store in the AM before the event. He seemed a rational guy, and I didn't think he'd actually try to poison me so I had to give them the benefit of the doubt. But....damn. I have to admit I had to say ".....open mind, keep an open mind....." out loud several times before I crossed this bridge. Skeptical didn't quite seem to cover it.

So, on Saturday AM I broached the task and took on the little one - the Tabac Especial "Colada". I didn't bother with the camera as I figured it would suck and I hate to write up reviews of nasty cigars, even more so when a good friend donated them to the review. With a cup of black coffee in hand, I lit it up and made an interesting observation:

It didn't suck. It was actually pretty good. I was a bit flummoxed.

So, with that behind me, this AM I decided to give the Robusto a go. The setting was my deck, in the cool of the AM, with my little dogs and a steaming cup of black coffee at my side:



A better shot of the cigar:



Boy, this thing smelled....like coffee. And, dammit, they sweetened the tip somewhat. ".....open mind, keep an open mind....". Well, first things first. It was a nice looking smoke. Credit where credit is due, the guys at Drew Estate do know how to make a good cigar. Anyone that's enjoyed a Liga Privda #9 will attest to that. This was no exception. A few veins were evident, but overall, not a bad looking smoke. Cut clean with the Xikar. Pre-light draw was on the mark; not too open, not too restrictive. Very nice, actually. The pre-light flavors suggested.....coffee. No surprise there. A big swig of Joe and I put fire to the foot:



Immediately, I detected tastes of....coffee. What surprised me is it that it was actually pretty nice; it wasn't sickeningly overpowering, but it was definitely a coffee infused cigar. The smoke was dense and had the distinct aroma of....coffee. Burned nice and cool and gave up the unmistakable tastes of.....coffee. Yes, I smoked the whole thing:









...by about the halfway point, the sugar tip had pretty much gone by the wayside leaving me with the flavor of....coffee. Burn and construction turned out to be quite good. Took two cups of coffee to finish this stick, and it was actually enjoyable. Quite enjoyable, to be honest. Flavored....you bet, but not so overwhelming that you felt a trip to the barf bucket was pending.

What did I expect? If you get a blackberry milkshake you expect to taste blackberries. If you eat strawberry shortcake, you probably will get some strawberry tastes in there. This was a coffee infused cigar, and that was the flavor in the forefront. Not a lot of complexity, but not so overwhelmingly flavored as to be completely nasty. Perhaps some cinnamon, perhaps some chocolate, but mainly....coffee. Did I mention....coffee...? And, the smoke was nicely fragrant; the wife commented that it smelled rather nice and rich, sort of like.....coffee. Go figure....

The $10K question - would I buy more? The answer is....maybe. Sure won't replace my favorites in the near future, but for a nice change in the AM with coffee....it wasn't a bad choice at all. If you've ever wanted to try an infused cigar, this would be an easy one to recommend. Some folks won't like it a bit, and that's perfectly understandable, but as I said, for an interesting change of pace, it wasn't bad....not bad at all.

....the Moonie? I'll have to give that some thought..... :laugh:

In any event, a big thank you to Israel and all the nice folks at Uptown Cigar for letting me try these interesting smokes. My big surprise was that I actually liked them and they did indeed go great with some black coffee and both provided a good start to the day.

Tonight's smoke will not be an "infused" cigar, however...... :laugh:

One man's opinion.....B.B.S.

I'm a fan of the earthy/coffee-like notes from cigars, so when I had a chance to try a Drew Estate Java Wafe, I immediately did so, but the cigar was kinda too sweet for my tastes. The Tabac Especial sounds dynamite, probably what I expected from the Java, but failed to do so miserably.

Excellent review BBS, I will have to keep this one in mind when I'm out with friends and when an intrusive cigar isn't allowed!

Nick

Wow, Tom. I thought you'd be a martyr taking one for the team, but it seems you lucked out.

I enjoyed the review, and the humor. It's good to hear Israel's not trying to kill you, since I hope to visit him in November.

Delightful review, Tom! It's a genuine treat to read one of yours.

Israel sent me a Colada and Robusto too and I have smoked the Robusto. I found it to be redolent in a sweet coffee aroma that was less like a straight cup of Killer Beans and more like a cup with just a bit too much CoffeeMate Creme Brulee coffee creamer in it. It was omnipresent but not offensive like the Drew Acid, Natural Dirt abominations. However, just a touch more or a touch sweeter and it would have tipped right over into "cloying-ville." I found the body and strength to be quite full and strong and I think this was a key factor in keeping it from becoming sickening. Had the coffee aroma overlaid a mild to medium smoke, it would not have been nearly as tolerable.

Overall, a good, unusual cigar. A decent change of pace but not one I'd put in rotation. I can definitely see myself smoking one now and then though.

As for the Moonie...I await your review with bated breath.

Wilkey

Ginseng said:

Israel sent me a Colada and Robusto too and I have smoked the Robusto. I found it to be redolent in a sweet coffee aroma that was less like a straight cup of Killer Beans and more like a cup with just a bit too much CoffeeMate Creme Brulee coffee creamer in it. It was omnipresent but not offensive like the Drew Acid, Natural Dirt abominations. However, just a touch more or a touch sweeter and it would have tipped right over into "cloying-ville." I found the body and strength to be quite full and strong and I think this was a key factor in keeping it from becoming sickening. Had the coffee aroma overlaid a mild to medium smoke, it would not have been nearly as tolerable.

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An interesting point, Wilkey, and one I omitted. Yes, it tasted like.....coffee, but almost like coffee with creamer in it. Kind of hard to pin down, I think you did it better than I could have. It was very interesting, and like I said, I was surprised and enjoyed it quite a bit. Your observation is spot on; this smoke walks the line that I think all flavored smokes have to walk; not flavored enough, or so flavored that they are sweet and horrible. But, I really believe this one did quite well and was not at all "offensive" if you take into account this was clearly a "flavored" smoke. You get what you'd expect, but not so overwhelming that it was nasty.

Ginseng said:

As for the Moonie...I await your review with bated breath.

Wilkey

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....ehh, I'll have to get back to you on that one.... :laugh:

Best regards, fellow enthusiasts - B.B.S.

A very nice review and I thank you for it. I know a lot of people who swear by both wrapper styles in the Tabak line.

Did the cigar taste like coffee? ???




Very nice review on what sounds like an interesting smoke. :thumbs:

Great review Tom, I like to have one of these every now and then. I keep a few in the Wifeys humi, along with the Moonies :whistling: . I also have found it to be a nice morning smoke with coffee if you are looking for something a bit mild.

Excellent review and pics Tom, I enjoyed the read.

However, that's all I will enjoy, I cannot stand the taste of anything but tobacco and will not taste one.

Brian

I share the same tastes as you when it comes to flavours: Simple, but excellent quality (no better way to have you spirits than neat, etc). I am most intrigued that you didn't hate this, and am rather keen to see how you like the CAO.

Thanks for the review, Tom. I too thought that the smoke had just enough of the flavors. Any more of it, and it would have killed it. The Colada has become my new "morning coffee" smoke, for now. I'm sure that will change soon, as it always does.

Thanks for the review I am not a huge fan of the infused cigars but my wife loves them and she loves coffee maybe I will have to try and pick a few up for her rp

Very good review. The pics are always a plus. I tried a Tabak over the 4th of July weekend. I do not smoke flavored cigars normally, but this one did taste just like everyone said like.... coffee. I found it to be a rather enjoyable smoke and change of pace. I don't think I would get a box, but wouldn't mind having one here and there.

NO more soup for you!!

Who are you and what did you do with the geek with a pony tail?

I really enjoy the Gurka Tabac tins for a quick morning smoke but what do I know I am a SOTL?

Cant wait to try them full sized

It is good to know that they are at Uptown. Plotting my drive up to Kingston!

A friend of mine who likes the Java version, read this thread and wanted to give it a try.
Sunday when he was in a very good mood lit one up.
He was very disappointed. The Tabac was chemically overwhelming. The Java version has a nice balance, and it is a little more expensive.
After a few puffs, he was looking for something to wash his mouth with.

He is going to stick with Java version, and as for the three other Tabacs . He will pass them on to newbies.
I already told him, no thank you.

Another awesome review, Tom. You are going to have to give me a tutorial on how to put those great pics in a post.

I'm not sure I could bring myself to smoke one of these, but your review certainly made me give it a second thought.

Best Regards My Friend - Lou

B.B.S, awesome review! I always enjoy these! Good play, Israel!

I actually bought one of these a few months back out of curiosity. I'm not a fan of flavored cigars by any means, but this one surprised me. It really wasn't all that bad. I still prefer the taste of pure tobacco over the flavored, but I enjoyed it enough to buy one for my dad. He isn't a big cigar smoker, but will occasionally light up with me if I give him something, and he usually complains that the cigars I give him aren't "sweet enough." :laugh: I knew as soon as I tried the coffee infused cigar that it would be perfect for him, and I was right.